Test Lab

Sound's

Golden Boy

It's the perennial headphone bout. Cans vs. buds. While heavyweight cans are hardly necessary outside of shooting ranges and airplanes, flyweight buds are more of an athlete's go-to. Let's call the new V-jays ambitious welterweights, both versatile and durable. These are the classic, open-style headphones with comfy foam cushions from your Walkman days, except these are sonically superior. Operating under the dictum, "the sound of science," Swedish manufacturer Jays crafts the headphones with 40mm mylar speakers, which offer heavy bass and an impressive volume range. After a two week test drive, we found the V-jays (compared with other mid-price competitors), offer pitch perfect clarity and sound balance while packing a weighty low-end punch. V-jays are facilitators, minimizing the distance between sound and perception. In short, these headphones make you want to listen. - Akash Goel